Culture, coercion, and power in post-war health and social welfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Talk by Reima Ana Maglajlic, a Reader in Social Work at the University of Sussex, Brighton.

Abstract

International organisations and mainstream mental health professions shape and interpret local distress and associated professional services in many conflict and post-conflict societies.

This talk explores both, based on two related studies. The first is an auto-ethnography based on insider knowledge of the transformation of post-war health and social care services. The second is an exploratory, co-produced, qualitative study of mental distress during and after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Three central themes – culture, coercion, and power- are explored to offer insights and discussion starters about meaningful health and social care support, based on experiences in this South-East European country.

Bio

Reima Ana Maglajlic is a Reader in Social Work at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Her work mainly focuses on co-produced knowledge of health and social care services in post-war contexts, based on her experiences in South-East Europe.